Just Say It Once
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: Dolph Ziggler really shouldn't have left his phone where his brother could get his hands on it, now his brother has a plan in mind, and where does AJ factor into all this? Dolph/AJ
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or real people depicted in this story. The characters belong to WWE, and the people own themselves. Pretty tame story, so read to your heart's content.**

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A/N: I was talking with Carly last month around Christmas, and this story popped into my head, so I'm writing it down. It takes place around Christmas, and for the story's purpose, AJ is single. That's all you need to know going in. I hope you enjoy it, and please review and let me know if I should continue it or not. Thanks. :)

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Dolph nearly ran up the steps to his parents' house, his suitcase dragging behind him. The air was so frigid, and no matter how many years he'd lived here, no matter how many times he visited, the cold still stabbed at him like it hated him. It was like he was just born to be in warmer climates, which made living in Phoenix ideal. He stopped at the front door, knocking loudly because he didn't want to dig around for his keys. The door swung open and he saw his younger brother on the other side.

Dolph nearly pushed his brother out of the way to get inside, stomping his feet to rid them of the snow they accumulated from the space between his rental and the front door. Ryan scowled at his brother, but then looked behind him. "Hey, where's your girlfriend?"

"My what?" Dolph turned to him in question, wondering what his brother was even going on about.

"Your girlfriend, you know, the girl who is more than your friend."

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Dolph shook his head. "I haven't had a girlfriend this year, which is kind of depressing now that I think about it, the year is almost over, it's almost 2014, and I spent 2013 without a girlfriend."

"Wow, talk about droughts," Ryan said.

"Hey, I never said that," Dolph pointed at him, smirking a little bit. Ryan rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. He was not going to pry and ask whom he might have slept with; there were just some things he didn't need to know about his brother's love life. "Wait, who did you think was my girlfriend? Lauren? Because we're just friends."

"No, AJ," Ryan said like it should have been obvious.

Dolph's eyes widened considerably, but only very briefly before his face went blank, "What? Um, bro, you do know the difference between storylines and real life, don't you? Because if you don't, I'm not sure the wrestling business is for you."

"Really? Wow, now I find out, it only took me 29 years, but thanks," he said sarcastically, making a face at his brother. "I thought you two were together."

"Yeah, no," Dolph said, walking into the house. "Where is everyone? I thought everyone would be here when I got in."

"Of course, of course, because you've got to be the center of attention, the one that everyone greets with a hero's welcome, right? God, bro, get off the high horse every once in a while."

"I thought there would a parade, I was looking forward to sitting on top of the float," he said, "but seriously, where is everyone?"

"Um, Mom and Dad are at some Christmas party thing with one of their friends, Donny is at his place, and so it's just you and me, and well, I thought it was going to be you and me and AJ, but I guess not."

Dolph just scoffed, "I don't know why you even thought that, I've never given any indication that I was with her. We were together for a storyline, now we're not together in that storyline, so we're back to being coworkers."

"Really? You're just back to being coworkers?" Ryan said.

"Yup, so I'm going to go put my things upstairs in my room, and we'll order in a pizza or something, I'm starving," Dolph said, "I grabbed a burrito before leaving this morning, but haven't had anything since. Can you order?"

"Yeah, sure," Ryan said, walking into the kitchen as Dolph went to the front door where his suitcase was sitting.

Ryan was very confused. He really, honestly thought AJ and his brother were dating. He wasn't the only one either. His mother thought it too, saying that she was hoping Dolph was bringing her for Christmas because she hadn't seen her since Raw was last in Cleveland. Everyone just thought they were trying to hide it for now because it was probably new. That was why nobody brought it up at Thanksgiving even though everyone kept hinting about it. His dumbass brother apparently didn't pick up on any of the hints.

Whenever he talked to Dolph, the subject of AJ always came up, even if they weren't discussing anything wrestling-related. Something would just remind Dolph of a story about AJ or they'd talk about something and his brother would comment on how much AJ liked or disliked it. Now his brother was denying ever having feelings for AJ when it was pretty clear his brother had a lot of them, and none of them seemed friendly.

He went into the kitchen to order the pizza, still thinking about how his brother had to be lying. There was no way he didn't have feelings for AJ. This was just Dolph being Dolph though. When he was around women he liked, he lost his cool. He became shy, awkward, and he could just imagine him trying to act aloof around AJ and completely failing. His brother just wasn't smooth when it came to women he actually wanted to be with, he'd seen it a million times growing up. Some women found it endearing.

"Did you order?" Dolph said, coming into the kitchen and seeing his brother just standing there. "Are you kidding? You're just standing there and you couldn't order?"

"You were gone like a second!" Ryan said, grabbing the phone and dialing the pizza number his parents kept on the fridge just for occasions like this. He ordered the pizza as he watched his brother grab a water from the fridge and take a few chugs of it. "Okay, ordered, one for you, one for me, and all the leftovers for mom and dad."

"Great," Dolph said.

"So AJ really isn't your girlfriend?"

"No! How many times do I have to say it, she's not my girlfriend, she's never been my girlfriend, alright? We're just friends, we're close now, but that's what happens when you have your tongue in someone's mouth for the majority of a year," he said, "she's one of my best friends."

"Best friends? That's not something you toss around a lot."

"Because I don't have that many, but she is, she's great," Dolph shrugged carelessly. "I mean, she's really funny, and she can keep up with me, which is great, it's good to have someone like that, that I can travel with and stuff."

"Yeah, but isn't that what you've always said you wanted in a woman?"

"So? Doesn't mean I don't want it in friends," Dolph shrugged, taking another sip of his water. He looked at his brother, who was just staring straight back at him. "What?"

"So you mean to tell me, if AJ came in here right now, confessed her love for you, was like, 'Oh, Nick, I'm _so_ in love with you!'" Ryan flounced his arms around and batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly, "you would honestly turn her down? Really?"

"Well, if she came here saying all that, I'm not going to turn her down because she's beautiful, but she's not my girlfriend, get over it," Dolph told him, but Ryan thought he was putting up some kind of front. He couldn't understand why his brother wouldn't make a move. AJ wasn't going to stay single forever, and she could do a lot worse than his brother.

"Mmhmm," Ryan folded his arms.

"You're so weird," Dolph shook his head. "I didn't come home to get interrogated. Where's _your_ girlfriend? Oh, wait, you don't have one either. So you should just shut your mouth about things you don't know."

"Awfully angry about something that isn't a big deal," Ryan pointed out.

"I'm going to take a shower before the pizza gets here, I'll pay, just take what you need out of my wallet," Dolph grabbed his wallet and his phone from his back pocket and placed them on the counter. "I need to get this plane grime off me."

"Okay," Ryan said, watching as his brother disappeared from sight. He glanced over at the wallet and phone sitting on the counter, and a very bad idea came to his brain. Oh, it was very bad, and he really shouldn't, he really, really shouldn't. It wouldn't be a good idea to do what he was thinking. It wouldn't be a good idea at all. Yet, there it was, sticking in his brain, urging him forward. He walked out of the room a little and could hear the water just starting to run.

He walked back into the kitchen and at the phone sitting there innocently in its pink case. His brother loved pink as much as Ryan loved sharks. It was almost a sickness with him. If he picked it up, it wouldn't be hurting anyone, would it? No, of course not, he would put it back where it was. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. It wouldn't hurt to see if his brother still used the same passcode on this he did on everything else, would it? He was just curious to see if his brother was as predictable as he'd always been.

He punched in the four digit number that corresponded with his brother's first televised match, 1024, and the phone unlocked. Ryan gave a small chuckle, his brother never really changed, and now that his phone was unlocked, it wouldn't hurt to just look at his contacts. It wasn't like he was going to spy on his brother's texts or something, he was better than that. He would never stoop _that_ low. Sticking his head out of the kitchen, he heard the shower still running and was glad his brother still took insanely long showers.

He went to his brother's contacts and scrolled to the start of the M's, figuring that he'd put AJ's full name so it would be under Mendez. He slowly went through the M's, rolling his eyes at how many numbers his brother had in his phone. There was no way he talked to all these people. He went from Mellon to Mendoza, and there was no Mendez to be found. That was weird. Did he not have AJ in his phone? Maybe she was under Lee for some reason. He scrolled back up to the L's, but there was no AJ Lee there. Then he thought maybe she would be under just AJ, so he went back up to the A's, and nope, no AJ there either.

He was shocked that AJ wouldn't be in his phone. He was so sure they were close, but he didn't have her number? That was like big time nowadays, having someone's phone number meant something. Maybe he just missed it in the M's. He scrolled back down to the M's, and he looked through the names again. His thumb slipped a little and went to the N's when he saw it. He scoffed as he read it, _My Little AJ_. She was in his phone as "My Little AJ."

"Pfft, not in love with her, yeah fucking right," Ryan muttered to himself. He knew he was right, he knew he was right all along. His brother was completely crazy about AJ, and he just didn't want to admit it because he actually liked her and this is what he did, he waffled around forever until finally working up the courage to ask her out, but how long would that take, and would AJ even be single if that happened? She was a gorgeous girl, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there were a lot of guys who would do anything to be with her. If his brother didn't make a move, he might lose his shot.

He didn't want that to happen. He knew that AJ made his brother happy. He'd hung out with her a number of times when he was still with WWE. His brother would come to visit him in Tampa, and without fail, Dolph would somehow fit AJ into their time together. He saw the way his brother looked at her when she wasn't looking, he saw the way she laughed at everything he said. Ryan saw it all, and he couldn't believe his brother wasn't with her when Ryan had never seen him happier than talking with her, and boy did they get lost in their own world when they talked. Sometimes he felt uncomfortable and very third wheel when they got lost in each other.

So…if his brother wasn't going to do anything, maybe he could…

Without thinking (because thinking would only make him changes his mind), he went to his brother's messages and without fail, his little AJ was one of the last people he was texting with. He spied because he was a horrible human being, and his brother was an idiot. The last thing they talked about was traveling together for the holiday tour, but they were doing so with Big E. Ryan rolled his eyes, leave it to his brother to have the chance to be alone with AJ, but muck it up by inviting someone else. Well, he was going to fix that…and fix his brother.

_Hey, me again, what do you say we ride alone?_

The shower was off now when he listened, but he had a few minutes, his brother would have to look impeccable and probably blow-dry…yup, there went the blow dryer. _Um, okay, sure._ The reply came quickly. _I guess I'll tell E to get his own ride?_

_I'm sure he can ride with someone, I really want to be alone with you._

_You do, but why?_

_Because I really like you._

Oh yeah, Dolph was going to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you SO much for all the reviews and stuff for the first chapter. I'm really glad you're intrigued by the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review again, I'd really appreciate it, thanks! :)

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_You do?_

_Yeah I do_

Ryan could hear his brother coming down the stairs, and he quickly put Dolph's phone down. Then he just as quickly picked it back up and thought about pocketing it so he could continue his conversation with AJ. But then his brother would be looking for his phone, and that would be even worse. He wanted his brother to talk to AJ, but then again, that could be bad because he was within striking distance of his brother, and if Dolph knew what he'd just done, he was going to be sporting his Christmas gift from his brother in the form of a black eye.

He had to think quick, and so he typed as fast as he could, _I'll talk to you later_

The response was so immediate, she must have been staring at her phone, which must have been open to their conversation. _You can't just say that and go!_

_I'm sorry, I have to!_

He exited out of his messages, and he put the phone back on the counter where it was. Dolph was in the room a second later, "God, I feel so much better now, pizza's not here yet?"

"No, not yet, should be soon," Ryan said, glancing over at his Dolph's phone, hoping against hopes that AJ just accepted that they would talk later, and not message him again. Until the pizza got here though or until AJ blew this whole thing up with a new text, he really had to get the truth out of his brother. "She's kind of changed you though."

Dolph spun around to look at his brother in confusion, "What are you talking about now?"

"AJ," Ryan answered, and Dolph rolled his eyes. It was such a defense mechanism for his brother to just brush things off. He did that a lot, he would make jokes or make light of something that in actuality really frustrated him. It as just his way of trying to deflect from the real issues at hand.

"Why are we back to talking about her?" Dolph asked. "I thought that I explained that she wasn't my girlfriend, and we're just friends, really good friends."

"You don't see it of course because you don't necessarily see the changes in yourself. It's other people who notice them first. You're different now, you've been different since her, and it's like, look, I know you're a guy who when you're in a relationship, you're really good at it, sort of. Like, when you love a girl, you're like Mr. Devoted. But it's different with AJ."

"Because she's not my girlfriend, so of course it's going to be different, there's a different dynamic," Dolph tried to explain it away, but Ryan wasn't going to let him off that easy. Not this time, and not with this girl. It wasn't like Ryan got involved in Dolph's love life all the time or anything, but when he could see, as plain as day, that his brother was in love with someone, someone who could possibly be _the one_, he had to help somehow. It was like his familial duty to do so.

"Yeah, but I mean, really, it's kind of really, really different," Ryan said carefully. "Don't you think that there's something more going on. I mean, didn't everyone think there was more going on? I had so many of our friends asking if you were actually with her."

"Women?" Dolph asked with a smirk.

Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head a little, "You're not fooling me, man. I'm your brother. You may be able to fool other people, but why won't you just admit that you have feelings for AJ? Is it really that hard to think about how you might have feelings for the girl?"

"It's because I don't," Dolph told him, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know why you want to make a big deal out of this, but I assure you, I'm not in love with AJ, I mean, she's great, I love her as a friend, but it's nothing more."

The doorbell rang then, signaling their pizza had come. Dolph grabbed his wallet, slapped his brother on the back, and walked out of the room. Ryan still didn't believe his brother, and as soon as he was out of the room, grabbed his brother's phone again and unlocked it, going back to his brother's messages.

_Hey, sorry about that, family and everything_

She still must have had her phone near because the response was quick. _It's ok can we talk though?_

_Later._ Ryan didn't know how he was going to make that happen, but he'd be damned if this night didn't end with his brother finally confessing his feelings for the petite brunette who seemed to take over his life. He deleted as many messages as he could get to before Dolph came in with the pizzas. He set them on the counter and grabbed a couple plates from the cupboard, sliding one over to his brother.

"We're bothering with plates?"

"If Mom comes home and sees us just eating pizza from the box, she'll have a fit," Dolph said, putting a couple slices on his plate before heading into the living room. Ryan watched as Dolph settled into the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. This gave Ryan the opportunity to get back on Dolph's phone. He knew his brother was going to kill him, but maybe the fact he'd have AJ at the end of all this would grant him a pardon or at least some mercy.

_Is it okay to call you around midnight?_

_Yeah, sure, we definitely need to talk_

_I think so too_

_You really like me?_

_Yeah I do_

_We'll talk at midnight then, later_

_Later_

Ryan deleted these messages too, and now he only had a few hours to get his brother to admit his feelings, and a few hours to tell him what he did. Unless he didn't, and he messaged AJ to call around midnight, that was a thought. But he didn't want to put AJ on the spot like that. It would just be better if he told the truth. Yes, he should tell the truth, but first his brother needed to tell the truth.

He grabbed his plate and brought it back into the living room. His brother had on a hockey game, it looked like the Penguins vs. Senators, and he settled into the couch as they both ate in silence. Once he was finished with his first slice, he looked at his brother. "Would it be so terrible if you did like AJ?"

"Oh my God! Quit it!" Dolph practically yelled. "How many times do I have to say it? I don't have feelings for AJ, we're just friends, God, can you just stop it because it's getting completely out of hand now, and it's annoying, and maybe _you_ want to date AJ, and if so, go ahead because she can date whomever she wants, even if it's a complete jerk who isn't worthy of her."

And now they were at the root of the problem, "So you think there's another guy?" Ryan called him out.

"What? No, I'm just saying that she can date whoever she wants."

"So she's seeing someone, and that's why you don't want to admit that she's the woman you're in love with because you think that it's futile if you think for even one second that she's interested in you."

"Stop it," Dolph practically shoved an entire slice of pizza into his mouth to avoid talking to his brother.

"I'm not going to stop it because it's obvious you like her."

"I don't want to talk about it," Dolph mumbled around his massive bite of pizza.

"Who is it? Do you know? Maybe you're wrong. You wouldn't ruin your friendship if you told her, you know? I mean, if worse comes to worse, she says no and you move on, and that's okay, it doesn't have to be a big deal. You're friends with all your exes, and so you'd continue being friends with her."

"You think it's that simple?" Dolph asked. "You just think that if I told her I liked her, and she didn't, she would just go back to being friends, that we _could_ go back to being friends? It would be awkward, and she would avoid me."

"So you do like her?"

"Of course I like her!" Dolph exclaimed. "I mean, come on, what's not to like, she's perfect. She's beautiful, she gets me, she can keep up with me, did I mention she's beautiful? She's got this sense of humor that just kind of sneaks up on you, and she's got a ton of dirty jokes, which surprised me. She's great."

"So why do you think she's interested in someone?"

"Celeste told me," Dolph said. "She told me that AJ is interested in a guy, and that she's been hanging out with him even when they're not at shows, and so this guy probably lives in Florida if they're hanging out together. So she sees him on our off days. I think it's Jon. She's always talked about how she had a crush on The Shield, which probably means that she has a crush on Jon since he's the only single one, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Celeste said that AJ is just waiting for this guy to make a move because she's too shy to make the first move, which shouldn't endear me to her more, but it does."

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel and see?"

"No, look, don't worry about it, life goes on, there are plenty of other fish in the sea," Dolph turned his attention back to the television.

"What? Like the girls on Twitter you've become friends with, I believe they are what the children call thirsty," Ryan told him.

Dolph shrugged. "I didn't say that I wanted any of those fish. Can we just not talk about AJ? I have to see her the day after Christmas as it is, and we're exchanging gifts, and I don't know what she got me, and it's probably something small, and I'm freaking out because I got her something nice, and I don't know, she's probably going to read too much into it, especially since she's not interested."

Ryan wasn't so sure that was actually the case. It seemed like Kaitlyn was talking about Dolph maybe. It was possible. Maybe he and AJ were just kind of dancing around each other. Kaitlyn could have been trying to hint to Dolph to make a move, to make _the_ move, but his stupid, dense, hard-headed idiot of a brother wasn't picking up on the fact that Kaitlyn was knocking him over the head with information. Of course, this all hinged on AJ having feelings for Dolph, but that's what it sounded like. He just needed some confirmation.

He excused himself and walked into the kitchen, grabbing his own phone, and scrolling through the contacts. He had Kaitlyn's number because they were both friends with Derrick, and had hung out a few times. He glanced into the living room to see his brother occupied by the hockey game and walked out into the hallway where he was out of earshot.

"Ryan?"

"Hey, Celeste," he said, "I know this is weird and out of the blue, but I was just talking with my brother, and he told me that you talked to him about AJ, and how she liked a guy, and how they hung out after shows, and all of that, and I was just thinking about it, and I was thinking that we might be on the same team here."

"What do you mean the same team?" Kaitlyn asked, and she sounded like she was settling down to get into the nitty gritty of this conversation.

"I think that you were talking about my brother, trying to make him make a move on your best friend. So tell me, were you talking about Nick as being the one that AJ is interested in?" He heard Kaitlyn laugh for a moment before answering.

"Of course I am."


End file.
